Device for mounting columns

ABSTRACT

A device for mounting columns including a tube for receiving a column or post to be supported whereby said tube includes a novel locking device. The locking device is formed with a clamp which is attached to the tube and which receives a locking pin in the form of a wedge. The wedge possesses a projection which is inserted into an opening within the tube to contact the column or post being secured. The top of the wedge is provided with a carrier bar which permits the wedge to be pivotally or rotatably moved relative to the locking clamp.

O United States Patent 1 [111 3,805,468 Granstriim Apr. 23, 1974 [54] DEVICE FOR MOUNTING COLUMNS 897,417 9/1908 Self 52/298 X 1,284,565 11/1918 Bennett.... 52/297 [751 lnvemor- Kopmg, 1,388,268 8/1921 Knutson 52/704 x Sweden 2,784,015 3/1957 Swanson 52/298 X [73] Assignee: Ernst Granstrom Aktiebolag,

Koping, Sweden Primary Examiner--Prlce C. Faw, Jr.

[22] Filed: June 5, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT PP 259,798 A device for mounting columns including a tube for receiving a column or post to be supported whereby 52 us. Cl 52/298, 52/704, 287/20.3, Said tube includes a novel locking device The locking 2g7 5 T device is formed with a clamp which is attached to the 51 Int. Cl E02d 27/42 2 tube and whichreceives a locking p in the form of a 581 Field of Search 52/704, 698, 298, 296, Wedge The Wedge possesses a Projection which iS 52 7 166, 297; 2 3 237 203 5 CT serted into an opening within the tube to contact the column or post being secured. The top of the wedge is 5 References Cited provided with a carrier bar which permits the wedge 'UNITED'STATES PATENTS to be pivotally or rotatably moved relative to the lockl 3,579,936 5/1971 Andersson 52/297 mg amp 2,817,548 12/1957 Uthemann 287/58 CT 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures iATENTEBAPR 23 I974 Fig.4

SHEET 2 [IF 2 DEVICE FOR MOUNTING COLUMNS The present invention refers to a method and a device for mounting columns'in the ground, and by columns is hereby meant any form of single or composite column which is intended to be mounted in the ground as for instance columns for parking indicators, road or street signs, for street light, attachment posts for road rails or fences, flag staffs or the like.

It is a wish that columns of the kind mentioned should be easily removed and replaced by other columns for instance due to damage of the column or for replacing the road sign or the like carried by the column by another sign. For this purpose columns or posts of this kind used to be mounted in a separate foundation which used to be mounted in the ground so that only the upper part thereof was projected above the ground 'or street plane. Thesaid foundations generally were tube-like formations of concrete into which the column was putdown at the mounting. These foundations of concrete are however'heavy-and complicated to handle and it is difficult to mount the column in such a way in' the concrete'foundationthat it cannot be rotated or so that it cannot be moved up from the foundation without intention or by unauthorized persons. In particular concerning road signs and thelike it is of importance that the column cannot be rotated, since the road sign would in such case-indicate wronginformation. It" is also of essential importance that the column should not be able tobe moved up from the-foundation unintentionally and not without difficulty, and for facil' itating the mounting of the column foundation in the ground his to be preferred that the foundation is as light as possible.

The present invention isintended to set aside the above mentioned disadvantages and lacks in theprior methods and devices for mounting columns, and according to the invention this is done as indicated in the below claims.

The invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are showing a preferred embodiment of a device for detouchablymounting of columns-inthe ground.

FIG. 1 is a-perspective view of a column foundation according to the invention, and FIG. 2 is showing the device according to FIG. I seen from above.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a part of the column foundation, and-FIG. 4 is a cross-section alongthe line IV IV of FIG. 2.

In the drawings there is shown a foundation 1, into which a column as for instance a traffic post is pushed down and anchored so that it can neither be rotated or pulled out of the foundation. 'The foundation 1 is formed by a cylindric tube 3 which in the bottom thereof is provided with a support plate 4 the purpose of which is to prevent the foundation from sinking down into the ground when the foundation is loaded by the traffic post 2. In the upper part the foundation tube 3 is provided with two wings 5 and 6 extending radially outwards from the outer surface of the tube 3 and which form an angle of about 120 with each other. The wings are somewhat folded about a horizontal line 7 so as to form an obtuse angle in cross-section. The purpose of the wings 5 and 6 is to make a rotation of the foundation impossible after it has been mounted in the ground and to some extent to help to prevent a pulling upwards orpushing downwards of the foundation.

On plane with the wings 5 and 6 the foundation tube 3 is provided with a locking means 8 formed by a locking wing 9 of substantially the same form and size as the wings 5 and 6, which is welded to the tube 3 parallelly therewith and a clamp 10, which is bent to right angle and which is welded to the locking wing 9 with one branch 10b thereof and to the tube 3 with the other branch 10a thereof. The branch 10a of the clamp 10 fixed mounted at the tube 3 extends parallelly with the locking wing 9, and the unit of the locking wing 9 and the clamp 10 is positioned centrally with respect to the tube.

Centrally in the locking means 8 and on level with the centre line of the locking clamp 10 the tube 3 is provided with a through hole 11, into which a locking pin 12 may be moved. The locking pin 12 comprises a cylindrical pin 12a which may be moved through the hole 11 and which is pivotally carried on top of the locking wing 9 and the branch 10 over a web 12b and in which the carrier bar 120 is somewhat longer than the distance between the locking wing 9 and the part of the clamp 10 extending parallelly therewith.

FOr the purpose of moving the locking pin 12 through the hole 1 1 and to provide an upsetting of the post 2 there is a-parallelepipedical wedge 13 which in the lower part 13a istip-formed and which in the upper part 13b is of even thickness. The width of the wedge 13 corresponds to the inner distance between the locking wing 9 and the clamp part parallelly therewith, and the thickness of the wedge corresponds to the distance between the locking pin 12 and the clamp part 10b when the locking pin is completely forced inwards. Thepart 13b of the wedge which is of even thickness is somewhat higher than the height of the clamp 10, and the tip-formed part 13a may have substantially the same height. In the drawings the tip 13a of the wedge is shown to be formed as a symmetrical flat wedge but in some cases it may be suitable to form the wedge tip l3aunsymmetrical and so'that the side thereof turned from the locking pin 12 extends on plane with the parallelepipedical-part 13b of the wedge. The wedge angle may be adapted to the circumstances and especially to the thickness of material and the stiffness of the post 2, which is to be upset by the-locking pin 12.

When mounting the post the foundation is dug down as deep into the ground that only a small part of the tube 3 extends above the ground or street level but so that the wings 5 and 6 and the locking means 8 are positioned underneath the said level. For enabling the anchoring of the post 2 in the foundation a free space is left above the locking means 8, and the said space is not filled up until the tube 2 has been finally anchored. Thus when the foundation is put down into the ground and the hole in the ground therefore is partly filled up the post 2 is put down into the tube 3 so as to rest against the support plate 4 of the foundation. Then the separate locking pin 12 is put down in the vertical slot which is formed by the locking wing 9 and the clamp 10, and since the height of the web part 12b of the locking means is adapted to the location of the hole 11 through the foundation tube 3 the cylindrical pin 12a thereof will be located on plane with the said hole 11. The wedge 13 isthen forced down between the locking pin 12 and the clamp part 10b and it is forced as far down that it will with the part 13b thereof which is of even thickness rest against the whole of the clamp part b. During this forcing downwards of the wedge 13 the post 2 is upset as indicated in FIG. 4, whereby a substantially elliptical upsetting is obtained which will prevent both rotation and pulling upwards of the post 2 from the foundation tube 3. The support plate 4 and the wings 5, 6 and 9 prevent a pulling upwards and a rotation of foundation, and the post 2 put down and anchored in the foundation is in this way stiffly anchored in the ground. After a forcing downwards of the wedge 13 in the locking means 8 the hole for the foundation is completely filled up, and the locking means 8 is thereby hidden underneath the ground level.

When exchanging a post anchored in the above described way the wedge 13 which has been forced down into the locking means 8 is only forced down further, so that it is pushed down into the ground underneath the locking means, and then the post 2 may easily be moved upwards at the same time as the locking pin 12 is moved out into the wedge space. When a new post has been put down into the foundation tube 3 the locking pin 12 is once more forced through the hole 11 in the tube 3 for the purpose of upsetting the new post, and this is done by forcing a new wedge down in' the wedge space in the above described way, and finally the ground above the locking means is once more filled up.

In a modified embodiment of the invention the hole 11 of the foundation tube 3 is formed slightly elliptical with the great axis extending in the vertical plane of the tube, for facilitating a turning and an insertion at the same time of the cylindrical pin 12a into the hole 11 while the locking pin 12 is resting against the tube via the carrier bar 12c. It is obvious that the locking pin 12 may be anchored in the locking means 8 for instance by having the carrier bar 12c extend through one hole of the locking wing 9 and one hole in the clamp part 10a. It is also obvious that the locking pin 12 may be formed in any other way than the above described or that the foundation may be provided with more wings 5, 6 and 9 than the above described or formed in any other way. If necessary the wedge 13 may of course be locked in its pushed down position for instance by means of a threaded locking screw, but normally this is not necessary since the upset post will resiliently force the locking pin 12 outwards and the locking pin 12 will in turn resiliently force the wedge against the clamp 10 thereby providing a friction lock thereof.

It is obvious to the man skilled in the art that many other modificationsand substitutions by parts to equivalent other parts may take place within the scope of the below claims.

I claim:

' 1. A post foundation comprising tube means for receiving a post at its upper end,

locking means positioned on the tube means for anchoring a post against movement which is received in the tube means;

said locking means including clamp means coupled to the tube means,

said clamp means including a wall spaced from the tube means,

a locking pin having a post engaging projection and insertable in operative position between the wall of the clamp means and the tube means,

said tube means including an opening to receive the post-engaging portion of the locking pin, and

-a wedge for insertion into the clamps means and including a first surface to contact the wall and a second surface to contact the locking pin for forcing the post-engaging projection into contact with the post for anchoring in the tube means.

2. The post foundation of claim 1 wherein the locking pin includes a cylindrical carrier bar to lie on the locking means and permit rotational movement relative thereto during insertion of the wedge.

3. The post foundation of claim 1 further comprising a post inserted in the tube means, said post including a recess to receive the post-engaging projection after insertion of the wedge.

4. The post foundation of claim 3 wherein said reces possesses an elliptical cross section.

5. The post foundation of claim 1 wherein the clamp means includes a first side coupled to the tube means and projecting therefrom and a second side angularly projecting from the first side forming said wall.

6. The post foundation of claim 5 wherein the locking means includes a locking wing coupled to the tube means and the second side. 

1. A post foundation comprising tube means for receiving a post at its upper end, locking means positioned on the tube means for anchoring a post against movement which is received in the tube means; said locking means including clamp means coupled to the tube means, said clamp means including a wall spaced from the tube means, a locking pin having a post engaging projection and insertable in operative position between the wall of the clamp means and the tube means, said tube means including an opening to receive the postengaging portion of the locking pin, and a wedge for insertion into the clamps means and including a first surface to contact the wall and a second surface to contact the locking pin for forcing the post-engaging projection into contact with the post for anchoring in the tube means.
 2. The post foundation of claim 1 wherein the locking pin includes a cylindrical carrier bar to lie on the locking means and permit rotational movement relative thereto during insertion of the wedge.
 3. The post foundation of claim 1 further comprising a post inserted in the tube means, said post including a recess to receive the post-engaging projection after insertion of the wedge.
 4. The post foundation of claim 3 wherein said recess possesses an elliptical cross section.
 5. The post foundation of claim 1 wherein the clamp means includes a first side coupled to the tube means and projecting therefrom and a second side angularly projecting from the first side forming said wall.
 6. The post foundation of claim 5 wherein the locking means includes a locking wing coupled to the tube means and the second side. 